tarboat's photos with the keyword: yaojie

SY 0527 shunts the loading point in the dusty, dirty gloom that was Mine No.3 at Yaojie.

Having arrived at the Yaojie system just before the diesels took over on the line up from Haishiwan it was a case of seeing what photos could be obtained even if it was murky and misty. Here SY 0362 is on the empties up from from Haishiwan on a grim winter's afternoon.

The remnants of a market litter the dusty street as SY 0527 pushes empty wagons up to the coal mines at Yaojie.

Cement manufacture at Yaojie, Gansu Province, central China. The perpetual smog is typical of the conditions to be found in this area.

Mine No.3 at Yaojie was one of the dustiest and smoggiest places I have been to. On my visit the loading point was being shunted by SY 0527.

Electric hauler on the loading point at Coal Mine No.3 in Yaojie, Gansu Province, China. In the distance through the murk can be seen a wagon being filled with coal.

Having arrived at the Yaojie system just before the diesels took over on the up from Haishiwan it was a case of seeing what photos could be obtained even if it was murky and misty. Here SY 0362 is on the empties up from from Haishiwan on a grim winter's afternoon.

China Rail had a shortage of empty wagons on this morning as SY 0362 of the Yaojie Coal Railway heads for Yaojie from the exchange sidings at Haishiwan on a murky, foggy morning. The limekiln in front of the bridge was not in operation during the winter period.

SY 1097 leads a long train of empty coal hoppers across the viaduct on the approach to Yaojie. This train will have come from the aluminium smelter at the top of this line. Visibility was as good as it gets in this area!

SY 1097 climbs to the river bridge, heading for the power station serving the aluminium smelter north of Yaojie. View on black.

SY 1097 heads north from Yaojie with a loaded coal train for the power station serving the aluminium smelter at Hequiogi. The viaduct provides a useful route for pedestrians as well as trains.

This was supposed to be the last day of regular steam working on the line through the gorge between Yaojie and Haishiwan and the train ran later than expected. It was going dark, it was smoggy, it was foggy, but the result was worth waiting for.

Yaojie is in a remote location west of Lanzhou and the railway from the main line has to thread its way along the side of a deep gorge. In the town there are a couple of branches up to the local coal mines which cross a number of the local thoroughfares on the level. SY 0527 pushes up to Mine 3 and holds up a few shoppers. In the foreground breakfast dumplings are steaming on a stove outside a shop.

Less than optimal conditions for photography but possibly the last ever steam hauled train from the interchange at Haishiwan to the mines at Yaojie. Diesels had arrived and were to take over for subsequent traffic. Heavy snow had disrupted the supply of empty wagons to the collieries and consequently only one was available this day. We waited in the foggy gloom for a long time before the train appeared on the bridge over a tributary of the Yellow River. Behind are a road bridge and the bridge carrying the main line.

A number of smaller works around this town in Gansu Province, central China, have been closed down since the opening of this large plant. The perpetual smog in this area is very evident in this view. Taken through smog and haze in poor light.

Market trader arriving for business on a cold morning in Yaojie, Gansu Province.

Chickens' feet for sale on the market in Yaojie, Gansu Province.